Hugh Latimer

Hugh Latimer (1487-16 October 1555) was Bishop of Worcester from 1535 to 1539, succeeding Girolamo Ghinucci and preceding John Bell. In 1555, he was burnt at the stake by Queen Mary I of England for his Protestant views.

Biography
Hugh Latimer was born in Thurcaston, Leicestershire, England in 1487, and he attended Cambridge University before becoming a fellow of Clare College in 1510. He was ordained a priest in 1515, and he was initially opposed to the Reformation, although he later converted to Protestantism. Latimer was given an admonition and a warning by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey due to his reformist views. However, King Henry VIII, who led the English Reformation, appointed Latimer Bishop of Worcester in 1535, and Latimer promoted reformed teachings and iconoclasm in his diocese. In 1539, he opposed Henry's reaffirmation of Catholic practices in the Church of England, leading to his imprisonment and the loss of his bishopric. During the reign of Edward VI of England, he was restored to his favor as the Church moved in a more Protestant direction, and he served as court preacher until 1550 and chaplain to Catherine Brandon, Duchess of Suffolk. However, he was persecuted under Queen Mary I of England, and he was burnt at the stake outside of Balliol College, Oxford in 1555.